If Tomorrow Came
by Nightwish Fan
Summary: Time is a very complicated and very dangerous thing. if it is messed with or meddled with the consequences can be phenomenal. But one person, or one thing loves this, he is known as the trickster, he has trapped so many souls throughout time but now it's time for him to stop, can the Sonic team stop him once and for all? And free the souls that remain trapped?
1. Prologue, The Theory of Time

Prologue, The Theory of Time

Time is a very confusing thing; it's difficult to get your head around. Some people believe that time does not exist, that it is a made up concept, that we only made up time as a way to measure events and record them. But there is a theory that all of time can happen and the same time, this is known as timelessness.

But one thing is known for sure, one thing every time traveller should know

Bad things happen to those who mess with time.

There are certain points in time that CAN NOT BE CHANGED! These are fixed points and what happen at those points MUST HAPPEN! If they are changed utter chaos could rein.

However there is one person who loves to meddle with time. One person who likes to test whether or not people can handle the immense power of time itself.

This person is called the Trickster; he changes people's fates or sends them in other timelines to see if they can find a way back home. He has trapped so many souls throughout time, but now he may have finally met his match, a new challenge. But that doesn't mean he'll go easy on them. Will this new power finally bring down the trickster or will they remain trapped in time forever?

But what is this new power? This new challenge? Well it's none other than:

The Sonic Team.


	2. Chapter 1, The Game Begins

Chapter 1, The game begins

It was a normal day on the planet Mobius, for now at least. Sooner or later the notorious Dr. Eggman would be attacking station square once again. But in the eyes of Sonic the hedgehog this was normal, nothing was abnormal about this. Indeed, at exactly 2:03 pm Eggman started attacking the city, but thankfully Sonic and his team arrived at the scene and immediately started destroying the astronomical amount of robots that Eggman had. The day could not have gone any more normal for Sonic and his team, that is if the Trickster wasn't roaming around Mobius. Everything he past seemed to shrivel up or go cold. He was hunting, hunting for new souls to capture, but he wasn't looking for the usual, normal soul. No, this time he wanted something different. A challenge, Or a good laugh. But he was weak and needed a power source to regain his potential. He soon sensed a very big and powerful source. He made his way over to it and found something a little more interesting,

New Souls, fresh souls. Powerful Souls.

The trickster smiled with glee, meddling with these souls would be fun. He thought, once he regains his power his new project would commence.

The battle between Eggman and the Sonic team went quicker than predicted, soon all the robots were destroyed and only Eggman stood between them and the chaos emeralds

"Give it up Eggman; we've destroyed everything you've thrown at us, just hand over the chaos emeralds" Sonic said in his usual cocky voice

"Never!" Eggman cried in return, wanting to get this over and done with, Knuckles ran over to Eggman and held him at the collar

"LISTEN EGGHEAD GIVE US THE EMERALDS OR I'LL MAKE SURE YOU'LL HAVE NO HEAD WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU!" Knuckles yells at him. Soon Shadow, Knuckles, Silver and Sonic were threatening or beating Eggman in order to have their hands on the chaos emeralds, however little to their knowledge the chaos emeralds were already being used, and they began to glow. Amy noticed this and yelled

"Sonic, Sonic!" Sonic quickly snapped in her direction to find her pointing in the direction of the emeralds, Sonic looked back at the emeralds to find them glowing, thinking the obvious Sonic ran over to Eggman and yelled

"What are you doing now Eggman!?" Eggman, baffled by what was going on could only reply

"I don't know Sonic, I honestly don't know!" The others then stared at the emeralds in shock and horror, who could be controlling the emeralds? They thought. Suddenly a black fog emerged from the emeralds, the fog then spread along the team's feet and a ghostly message was said from the fog

_time has run out_

The fog then the merged into a shape of a creature, the team watched the creature take its form with fear yet curiosity. The figure seemed to take the shape of a human yet there was something not quite right, its hands, arms, legs, and feet were hidden by a large black cloak, but it was its face that was even more disturbing. It had no eyes, just bits of flesh that hung there; neither did it have a nose. But it did have a mouth, and teeth. Lots of sharp teeth.

"So glad to be back in my original form" it spoke

"what are you?" Shadow said with disgust and shock.

"Who rude of me" the creature said with shock "I am the Trickster, meddler and controller of time"

"I don't believe you" Shadow replied

"Oh really? Look around you" The trickster replied with a sly smile, the team looked at him in confusion then looked around themselves. To their shock everything and everyone was stopped in motion. As if time had just stopped around them. Even Eggman was stopped in motion

"Now that I have your attention, I will explain what I have in store for you" The trickster says, at that point all of the team look towards him in anger yet curiosity "Time is a very complicated thing, a very complicated thing indeed, it can be hard to get your head around, so this is what I have planned for all of you" said the Trickster, he then waved his hands so that the world around him and the Sonic team faded away

"I will sent you to different time period, in the past, present and future and you will all be separated. So you're mission is clear and simple, you have to find each other" said the trickster

"Seems easy enough" Knuckles said. The trickster just laughed at this comment and replied

"Oh but you should know all to well that nothing is as it seems"

"Here comes the catch" Sonic muttered under his breath, the Trickster continued

"Only one of you will remember who they really are, what they really look like and remember their true past, the rest of you will think that you have lived in this time line the whole of your lives, you would have lived it, made friends, family and enemies and to you it all seem so real, you're names and history would have completely changed" The team froze in fear and anger, why was he doing this? They all thought

"So, the mission of the chosen one shall I say, is to not only find their friends, but persuade them that their lives in their time period does not exist, only then would you be freed"

"And then what, you let us go?" asked Sonic

"Not exactly, this will happen 7 times, so each one of you gets the chance to be the chosen one, once you have all taken turns and succeeded only then will I free you" replied the trickster,

"Why are you doing this!?" Shadow asked in fury and yet curiosity, the trickster response was quite strange, he simply shrugged and said

"My own amusement" This infuriated the team but they had no choice in the matter, they had to go along with it.

"Oh one more thing I forgot to mention" said the trickster "each of you will have exactly 72 hours in which to complete the mission, if you fail, then you will be quantum locked"

"what's that?" asked Sonic

"You will be locked onto the chose time period, you will not be able to return home, and you're current history will be erased, you will live out the rest of your days in the chosen time period" the team remained frozen in fear, Cream even gasped. It was all to terrifying, all too real.

"That's enough talking, let's get going" said the trickster, he then raised his arms and the team started fading away. Sonic reached out his hands to try and grab Tails and Amy but alas no luck, they tried to but found that they remained stuck.

"Good luck" said the trickster, and with that they faded away, and their mission began.


	3. Chapter 2, 2000 Years Back

Chapter 2, 2000 Years Back

Silver was first to become the person, he woke up with a groan in a dirt field. He also woke up to find himself dressed in some sort of toga that stopped at his knees.

"What the hell?!" Silver cried in confusion "What sort of time period is this?" Before he could gather his surroundings he heard a voice

"Hello, are you alright up there!" Silver turned to the voice and saw a little girl waving up at him

"Hello up there" She yelled, Silver waved back nervously and soon as he did the little girl came running up the hill to greet him. Once she was up she took a minute to catch her breath. Once she did she said

"What are you doing up here? so far from the town" The little girl, who looked no more that 8 years old, had a short white toga, just like Silver's but more girl like. She also had blonde hair that fell just below her shoulders.

"What?" was all Silver managed to say.

"The town, you're so far out, you shouldn't be" replied the little girl, still confused with the whole situation Silver asked

"Where is the town, and what is it called?" the little girl giggled and said

"My, did you hit your head?" she then pointed to a town at the bottom of the hill "that's Pompeii, the best holiday destination in the entire roman empire!" she exclaimed. Silver looked at the town, indeed it was a big town right next to the sea, wasn't surprising it was popular.

"So why are you up here?' asked the girl again, Silver looked down at the girl, she didn't seem too much of a threat so it wouldn't hurt if he befriended her.

"Why are YOU up here?" he asked with a smile, the little girl smiled back and said

"Alright, let's got back before we both get caught" the little girl then took Silver's hand, which caught him by surprise, she then looked back up at him and said

"My name is Maximiliana, what's yours?"

"Silver" he replied

"Nice name, now come on!" she replied as she dragged Silver down the hill. As they were coming down the hill, the hill made a loud noise as if it was groaning. Maximiliana froze; she looked back at Silver with worry

"the god's don't like us being up here" she said, she then turned back and began running down the hill.

Soon they made it to the bottom of the hill and arrived at the edge of the towns walls. They quickly entered and Maximiliana said

"Welcome to Pompeii!" Silver's eyes widened in shock, it was indeed a big town and it was incredibly busy, there were stalls selling all sorts of food or pottery, the atmosphere was so warm, so appealing. However there was one major thing that crossed Silver's mind,

How was he supposed to find his friends in this huge town? And more importantly how was he going to persuade them that their lives' weren't real?

_But there is something else going on_

Said a voice within his head, the voice belonged to the trickster, his voice was so cynical and sly that it was impossible not to recognize it.

_What do you mean? _

Silver replied telepathically, but he only got a maniacal laugh in response, then nothing.

"Hello!" Maximiliana said as she waved her hand in front of his face "Up in the clouds were we?" she smiled, Silver smiled back and said

"look, I'm looking for 6 people, I need to find them quickly, I don't suppose you could help me?" her eyes then widened and said

"Of course I can help you but first I must introduce you to my friend! I'm sure he can help us!"

"Great this is just what I need" muttered Silver sarcastically, luckily Maximiliana didn't hear it. She took him through the town, down narrow streets and finally into a small house. She opened the door to the house and said

"Tatius, Tatius! Are you home?!" she made her way into the house, still holding onto Silver's hand.

"I'm here! Come in!" Cried a voice, Maximiliana smiled and walked in to find Tatius working on something,

"Silver, meet Tatius, the cleverest person I know!" Silver followed her into the house and to his utter shock and joy, Tatius looked just like Tails, his fur colour, eye colour and of course his twin tails. Except he wore a toga. Silver smiled with joy.

_One done, five to go! _ He thought telepathically, however he would still have to persuade him that his life didn't really exist, and time was slowly running out.

"Hello Tatius!" he said as he walked up to him, Tatius, or Tails, walked out from his work place and greeted him

"hello Silver, it's great to meet you!" he then smiled and shook his hand. Silver sighed and said

"Look, I'm looking for five people and I could really use your help"

"hold on! You said six people before!" said Maximiliana. Silver laughed nervously and said

"yeah that's the thing; you seem to be one of them Tatius" Tatius looked confused and asked

"How?" Silver took a deep breath and said

"I know it seems absolutely crazy but I'm not from here, I'm from somewhere completely different, and so are you?"

"what do you mean?" asked Tails, more curios than scared

"we are from the future, the far distance future, us and some others got into some trouble with someone called the trickster and he sent us into different time periods, each time one of us would remember where we truly came from and who we really are, while the rest of us forgot. It was that person's mission to find the others, and persuade them that their lives aren't real so that we can be freed. All in 72 hours" replied Silver awfully nervously. Tails took a moment to take it all in; Maximiliana looked at both of them in confusion and fear. Finally Tails said

"So you're saying, my life as it is now, never existed?" Silver nodded and said

"Yes"

"But I remember you! I remember all those memories we shared!" Maximiliana cried in fear and confusion. Tails looked at her in sympathy and said

"I know, I remember too but a part of me tells me to believe him"

"You do?" asked Silver with a tad of joy

"Yes, now that I think of it, my life seemed like a blur, everything went too quickly, like it never really happened" replied Tails, he then looked up at Silver and said

"I believe you Silver, and I will help you find our friends and we will get freed" he and Silver shook hands and Maximiliana suddenly said

"I will help you too, even if it means losing my friend!" the three smiled at each other and Silver said

"Okay we have 5 more of our friends to find, we'll start with Sonic, or whatever he is called here, do you know a hedgehog, like me but with shorter quills, green eyes and blue fur?"

Tails paused to think and then said

"Yes, I think I do! Follow me!"

He then lead Silver and Maximiliana out of the house and down more narrow streets. Suddenly they came to a stop when they heard a voice shouting

"RIGHT! OUT BEFORE I KILL YOU!" they followed the voice to find a woman shouting at a blue hedgehog who stumbled out of a sort of bar.

"Calm down, it was only a joke!" replied the hedgehog in a cocky sort of manner. Immediately Silver knew it had to be Sonic.

"Meet Arcataus, the most annoying person in Pompeii, and possibly the entire Roman Empire" said Tails,

"That's him, that's Sonic" said Silver. Tails eyes widened

"Are you serious? We are friends with him!?" he nearly cried, Silver smirked and said

"Actually you too are best friends in our world" Tails looked at Silver with shock but said nothing. Silver then turned to Maximiliana, who seemed a little heart broken at that comment. Tails quickly noticed this and said

"Hey you're still my best friend here!" she quickly smiled again and giggled. Tails then called to Arcataus

"Arcataus! Over here!" Arcataus got up and ran over to Tails, Silver and Maximiliana.

"What is it?" he asked

"This man, has some thing important to tell you" Tails replied, Arcataus, or Sonic looked at Silver, he gave him a look of confusion and doubt

"Alright, but not here" he says, he then takes Tails, Silver and Maximiliana to his house, right on the other side of the town.

He lets them in and sits them down.

"Alright, what do you want to ask me?" he asks, but as soon as he says that, a voice from upstairs says

"Arcataus who's there!?" Arcataus groans and says

"No-one Julia!" but despite his efforts, Julia walks downstairs and enters the room in which they are situated in

"Well it sounds like someone is here, and look I am correct!" she says, To Silver's joy Julia looked exactly like Cream, ears and all.

"Ignore her, what is you wanted to ask me?" said Sonic/Arcataus, Silver looked at him then at Julia and said

"Actually I think she should stay, this involves both of you"

"Is this an interrogation, because I have done nothing!" Sonic suddenly exclaims

"Arcataus, please listen to what Silver has to say, it is not an interrogation, TRUST ME!" said Tails. Sonic calmed down and he and Julia, or Cream listened to Silver. He explained about the trickster, his mission and how time was slowly running out. After he had explained everything. He left Sonic and Cream a moment to take it all in.

"Are you sure?" Julia asked

"Absolutely" replied Silver, Julia then took a deep breath and said

"Well I don't know about Arcataus but you have my trust" Silver thanked Julia and then looked at Arcataus who was staring at the floor

"Who am I? In this future?" he asked, Silver paused to think, he finally said

"you're a hero, and I'm not just saying that so you can believe me, people love you, you've saved them countless of times before and they love for it" Silver smiled at Sonic who looked up at him with eyes of doubt

"Are you sure?" he asks

"yes, more than I've ever been" Silver replies with sureness in his voice. Sonic takes a breath and says

"Alright, but if this proves to be a trick I swear on Mars's life I will slit your throat!" Silver laughed nervously and they shook hands. Soon after another loud rumble came but this time it caused the house, to shake. Everyone hide or screamed in terror.

_Haven't you figured it out yet? _Said the trickster,

_Figured out what?! _Cried Silver mentally, The trickster only laughed and said

_This is __Pompeii__ and tomorrow is Volcano day!_


	4. Chapter 3, The Inferno Begins

Chapter 3, The Inferno Begins

Once it was over Sonic shouted

"What was that?!"

"I don't know? Maybe an omen from the gods?" said Julia

"It happened earlier on today" said Maximiliana. Despite his new fear, Silver still had to find Knuckles, Shadow and Amy.

"Look we haven't got time for this; we still have three more people left to find!" Cried Silver. They all looked at Silver and Cream asked

"Okay, what does another one of your, or should I say our friends look like?" Silver took a moment to think.

"Well there are two more hedgehogs, one pink with three bangs and one black with red streaks in his quills and a red echidna" Sonic eyes narrowed in thought

"Hmm, I seem to know them but only vaguely whereas the Echidna I know all to well" he said

"Would you know where we can find him" asked Silver, he nodded in agreement and lead Silver and the rest to an old shop right at the end of the high street

"He had better be here" said Arcataus; suddenly a large piece of pottery came flying out of the shop and hit the wall on the other side

"STUPID POTTERY!" yelled a voice

"Yes, he is here" said Sonic with a tad of joy "Livius, Livius! May we enter or is it still a danger zone?!"

"No come in" cried Livius, the group then entered the shop, it was covered in bits of broken pottery and glass. Livius turned to the group and to Silver's joy it was Knuckles, fur colour and all, but like the rest he was dressed in a toga.

"Livius! How's the pottery business?" asked Sonic jokily, Livius looked at Sonic with a look as he would kill him right there

"Funny" he said sarcastically, he then looked at Silver and the group and then back at Sonic

"Why bring the company" he asked, Sonic looked back at the group and said to Livius

"One brings news that you should really listen to" Sonic pointed over in Silver's direction, Livius looked over to Silver with eyes of confusion and curiosity.

"Go on then" He says, so Silver took a deep breath and explained everything once again. He explained about the trickster, the chosen one, and who they were still looking for. Livius, or Knuckles, took some time to take it in, but strangely he believed it, like Tails, Sonic and Cream it seemed that his life was just a blur. Silver then told him about the other two people they needed to find, Amy and Shadow

"Yeah, I know them" said Knuckles "they're brother and sister; however there are two major problems"

"And what are those?" asked Silver

"One, they are the children of the richest family in Pompeii, not to mention they are incredibly strict on them, getting them to listen to us and believe us will not be easy, And two, she daughter, Aemiliana, is due to be married next month" said Knuckles

"Oh no, this means you could never get freed!" Cried Maximiliana

"Or we'll all get killed" Silver muttered under his breath, thankfully no-one heard it.

"How long to you have left" asked Tails

"Not long 5 hours at most, I think" replied Silver

"Not long at all, then we had better get a move on" said Knuckles, and with that they left in search of the final two.

Right in the center of Pompeii laid a huge mansion in which Shadow and Amy were to be found. The group ran to the mansion and tried to find a means of entering, but alas no luck.

"How are we supposed to get in?! Time is running out!" cried Silver, suddenly another loud rumble came from the mountain, but this time it caused more destruction than before, and this time smoke started rising from the cone.

"Time is seriously running out!" Silver muttered. Seeing Silver's distress Maximiliana did the only thing she could think off, she walked up to the mansions walls and banged on the doors

"Please, PLEASE let us in, we're hungry and thirsty, our houses have been destroyed by the shaking of the earth, open your hearts" she cried. At that moment a head popped out of one of the windows, it looked a lot like Amy's head. But a voice was heard and it disappeared. Soon or later the doors of the mansion opened and they were allowed in. Maximiliana looked back at the group with pride. They all nodded in approval, or gave her the thumbs up. As they entered they couldn't help but to gasp in awe. The mansion was huge and beautiful. They wall were pure marble and there were tables that lay rows of fresh fruit and just glorious food in general. They were lead by two servants into the main dining hall. In the hall there were many mats for them to sit on and in the center there was a huge table full of food. Then out of one of the doors came in the master and mistress of the house

"I'm sorry to hear of your loss, but please we are kind people, it's not to late for breakfast, come in, dine" said the mistress, also known as Octavia.

"Thank you miss!" said Maximiliana, Octavia smiled and most of them settled down to eat. Silver walked up to Octavia and asked

"Excuse me, but what time it?"

"It's 11 o'clock, why?" she replied, Silver's eyes widened in fear. 1 hour that's all they had! One hour until Vesuvius would erupt.

"Are you alright?" asked Octavia, Silver could only nod in response. Suddenly another big tremble came from the mountain, causing the house to shake. Quickly everyone grabbed onto something for support. This one lasted longer than before, but thankfully it came to an end. For now.

After it was over, two figures came into the dinning hall, and to Silver's joy and relief, they were none other than Shadow and Amy.

"Mother, that was a lot longer than the previous ones, they are getting worse, I fear something bad will happen" said Shadow

"I would worry Marcius, if something bad does happen then the Gods will save us" replied Octavia. Shadow only grunted in response. Silver looked over at the group who all noticed them and signaled to him to talk to them, but he didn't know how. Knuckles mouthed at him

**Talk to Marcius first!**

Silver nodded and went over to Shadow, who had just left the room.

"Marcius, Marcius!" he called, Marcius turned around in annoyance

"What?! I have better things to be dealing with at this moment!" he said

"Yes I know, you are worried about the trembles of the earth, and I bet you're worried about your sister as well, but I have information that could save you both" Marcius just looked at him in annoyance and said

"I highly doubt that!" this just annoyed Silver so he shouted

"DO YOU WANT YOU AND YOUR SISTER TO DIE! BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T LISTEN TO ME I CAN GARUNTEE THAT TODAY YOU WILL BOTH DIE, NOT JUST YOU BUT THE WHOLE OF POMPEII WILL!" Shadow stopped dead in his tracks, he turned to Silver and asked

"What do you mean?"

Silver then did the one thing no time traveller should EVER do. He told the truth

"In one hour, Mt Vesuvius will erupt, the mountain that over looks Pompeii will explode, Pompeii will be engulfed in ash, smoke and lava. Everyone will be burned alive and then buried in ash. And then Pompeii will be no more" Shadow just looked at him in disbelief yet a part of him told him to believe.

"How do you know such things?" he asked

"Because I am from the future" he replied, he then explained his story once again. Once he had finished Shadow replied

"I will believe you, but only if my sister agrees to this" Silver nodded and Shadow went back to the main hall to call his sister.

He soon came back with his sister, Amy. She looked at him with eyes of confusion and asked

"Who are you?" Silver took a step forward and said

"My name is Silver, Silver the Hedgehog, and boy do I have a story for you" and with that he explained everything once again. Making sure he got every detail in. Once he had finished Amy, or Athena as she is known here said

"You do not possibly think that I believe such rubbish! Besides I am going to married next month, I can not possibly leave" Silver took a breath of irritation and said

"But there won't be a next month, not for Pompeii anyway!"

"Stop talking such nonsense!" she spat back, she then started walking away, Shadow looked back at Silver and said

"I'm sorry but if Athena does not agree neither do I" The two started walking away when Silver yelled

"TIME IS RUNNING OUT! PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!"

At that moment, a huge explosion was heard. The three froze for a moment. They looked at each other in fear. They then rushed outside to find that had erupted. A huge ash cloud came pouring out of the volcano and quickly plunged Pompeii in darkness.

"Don't you see! The end has come!" said silver. Amy and Shadow just looked up in fear. Soon everyone was rushing around, screaming in terror and panic. Ash came falling to the ground and the town became increasingly hot.

The others came rushing outside in terror.

"What is happening!" cried Sonic

"The gods are angry! Very angry!" cried Cream.

"No" replied Silver, everyone looked at him in confusion "this mountain has exploded, it will destroy all of Pompeii within 30 minutes" he then turned to Amy and said

"Don't you see!? There will be no tomorrow, no marriage, no nothing. Tomorrow will never come, unless you trust me! I can save you, you and your brother" Amy still shook her head

"No, the gods will save us, we have been good people, we do not deserve to be punished!" she cried as she looked up to the roaring inferno. Shadow then grabbed her by the shoulders

"We will NOT be saved! Don't you see! We will die! You seriously trust mother?! After everything she's done to us! Abused us, starved us, made you marry someone you don't even know! Do you really want the gods to save you knowing you'll have to spend another eternity with her!" Amy just looked at Shadow dumb founded. The ash fell on their heads, the people around them screamed in terror

"We all believe Silver" said Tails "Do you?" Amy looked at him, then at Silver, then at Shadow, then at Vesuvius. She nodded in agreement. That was more than enough for Silver.

"Come on! We need to find a safe place for the moment so we can be freed" they all ran in the heat and ash, down a narrow alleyway and into a small cellar. Once they were all inside Silver said

"Trickster! We all believe, we still have time. Now let us go!"

"I believe in you!" cried Cream

"So do I!" cried Tails

"And me!" cried Sonic, Soon everyone showed that they believed and the trickster finally said

_Very well_

And with that they all started to fade away. Silver looked back at Maximiliana, she was in fear and in tears.

"Don't leave me!" she cried. Silver extended his hand so she could reach, she ran up to it but her hand went right through, they both stared in shock and fear

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" he called but by then it was too late. He faded away completely and was gone forever. Leaving Maximiliana on her own, in the falling ash.

Soon everything was white and the team remembered once again their true past and memories.

'well done Silver" said the trickster, who had just appeared in front of them

"Why couldn't I save her!?" Silver spat at him. The trickster just laughed and said

"Because that was her fate, she was meant to die alone during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. There is nothing you could do about it" Silver looked away in shame and guilt.

"but let's not focus on that now" said the trickster "One mission down, six more to go! Lets get moving"

And with that they all disappeared once again

"Silver! Thank you!" called Amy before she disappeared all together

"No problem!" called back Silver before he too vanished

"Good luck" said the Trickster, and then everyone left and the new timeline started once again.


	5. Chapter 4, A Dirty Welcome

Chapter 4, A Dirty Welcome

It was Tails who was the next chosen one. His environment was a lot more different than that of Silvers. He woke up in a dirty alleyway, surrounded by tall narrow buildings that were constructed from wood and plaster.

"Oh, my head hurts!" he moaned, he painfully got up. Once he was up he took a while to examine himself. He still had two arms, two legs and two tails but instead of wearing nothing (except for his gloves and shoes) he wore a pair of dirty brown trousers that fell just above the ankles, a dirty white shirt that felt like paper on his skin. He also wore a dirty white apron and muddy black shoes.

"Not the most pleasant of outfits" he muttered to himself. After being rather unimpressed with his current look, Tails walked out of the dirty alleyway and into the main street. The street was awfully dirty. Faeces and dirt took over most of the street, but people didn't seem to care. There were plenty of shops selling all sorts of food or services towards the public. Tails began walking into the street, trying to find any hints of Sonic and the rest of the team. Unfortunately he wasn't quite paying attention to his surroundings, and he didn't notice a horse drawn carriage going straight in his direction.

"Oi! Watch out!" A voice yelled, Tails then found himself being thrown back onto the hard floor, not only did it hurt but he landed in something he really did not want to land on. Before he could gather what had just happened he saw a hand reach out to him, helping him up. Tails took a hold of the hand and got up. He wiped off the sticky brown substance he fell in and looked to see who the hand belonged to. The hand belonged to a young boy, about 14. He also wore dirty clothes and was over all quite dirty himself. He had grubby brown hair. He then smiled and said

"My name's Nicholas, but you can call me Nick" Tails smiled and said

"I'm Tails" The two smiled and shook hands

"Better be careful by the way, those horses could crush you're bones" Nick said

"Oh, well thanks for saving me" he said, Tails then felt a sharp pain in his hand, he looked at it and found a pretty deep cut on his hand. Must have fell on some glass he thought. Nick noticed the cut and said

"We should get that healed quickly; I've seen people die from a cut like that" Tails looked up at Nick in confusion and shock

"DIE?! Surely that is an exaggeration!" he said but Nick just shook his head

"No, a cut like that and the plague could get to it, and then you die" he said, Tails eyes widened and said

"The plague!" Nick nodded in response; although he was a little confused that Tails had never heard of it before

"What year is it exactly" Tails asked, Nick laughed and said

"Good Blimey, where have you been!? Its 1666, September the 1st" Tails eyes widened once again

_1666, wasn't there an important event that happened around this time?! _Tails thought

_But can you figure it out in time_ said the infamous voice of the Trickster. Tails ignored him and turned to Nick

"Do you know where I can get this cut cleaned fast? I'm on a sort of mission" he asked. Nick looked at him with a smile

"I know just the person!" he said "can I also help in your mission?" he asked

"I don't see why not" Tails replied, Nick then grabbed Tails hand and ran down the street.

He ran past shops, down alleyways and finally arrived at an old run down house at the end of the street. He opened door and called

"Mary, Mary! I have someone in need of your help" Suddenly a voice called back

"Come on in then" Nick took Tails into the house and into the main room. Inside the room there were many pots and bowls full of funny smelling herbs and liquids. The room also smelt musky as if the fresh air had never even stepped foot in the room.

"This boy has a cut, he needs help" said Nick, then a girl came out of another room into this one, it was no-one other than Cream. Tails smiled with joy.

_One friend already! This is going to be easy! _ He thought

_Don't get ahead of yourself_ replied the trickster.

Cream walked up to Tails and asked

"Hello, my name is Mary, now where are you cut" Tails showed her his hand and Cream took him over to a chair

"That seems pretty deep, good thing Nick brought you over to me, don't want that nasty plague getting into that" she said as she started boiling some water over a fire.

"He says he has a mission to fulfill, and I'm going to help him" said Nick, Cream, or Mary, took the water off the fire and put in some funny herbs into it

"Oh really? And what is this mission?" she asked as she stirred the mixture into a green liquid. Tails looked at her then at Nick, then back at her.

"Well, it's a lot bigger than you'd expect" he said as Cream poured the mixture into a bowl. She then took it over to Tails and unexpectedly poured it onto the wound, Tails let out a scream of pain, Cream looked up at him apologetically

"Sorry" she said, she then went to get a modestly clean cloth and wrapped it around Tails' hand.

"You were saying?" she said as she finished. Tails looked up at her and said

"Well my mission is to find my friends, we got into some trouble and well we ended up being sent into different time periods, except only one of us would remember who we really were, the rest of us would forget and it's the persons' mission to try and persuade the others that their lives in their time period is not real" Cream looked at him in confusion

"What are you trying to say?" she asked, Tails let out a sigh and said

"You are one of my friends" Cream shook her head and said

"Don't be ridiculous! I've always lived here, all my life! I think I would remember if I was sent through time!"

"But that's it, the Trickster made you believe! Trust me! Your life is not as it seems! If I don't convince you then we'll be quantum locked and we'll never be freed!" Tails cried, Cream looked at Tails in a mixture of confusion and disbelief

"Are you sure? How can I be sure to trust you?" she asked, Tails looked at her with honest eyes and said

"I am more than sure, but all I know that if you don't then we could never be freed from this time" Cream turned away from him and sighed, she took a moment to think. A silence swept through the room. Finally Cream spoke up and said

"What do you think Nick?" Nick looked at Tails then back and Cream

"Well something tells me he's not lying, but it's up to you Mary" he said, Cream then took a deep breath and said

"Alright Tails, I trust you. And if we are freed then I'll thank you" Tails smiled and said

"No, Thank you, I can't do it without everyone's help" Cream turned from the window and said

"Alright, who else do we need to find?" Tails took a moment to think, who he could find next, of course, his best friend Sonic!

"Do you know a blue hedgehog with green eyes? He's a bit taller then me" Tails said. Cream paused for a moment and said

"Yes I think I do" she then walked out the house with Tails and Nick following them close behind.

She led them down streets and avenues until she arrived to an old pub at the corner of a busy street. The pub's windows were old and dirty and the structure of the building did not look too sturdy. Cream opened the door and walked into the building. Inside there were many men sitting on stools at the bar or they were arm wrestling on some on the tables. The pub smelled of stale ale and rotten fruit. It took quite a toll on the nose. But Cream and Nick didn't seem to mind. They walked in and Cream asked

"Is Richard here at all?" Some of the men pointed towards a corner of the pub. Cream thanked them and walked over to the designated corner. Indeed Richard (or Sonic) was fighting another man in that corner

"You thought you could take me down eh?" he yelled at the man's face, while he held him in a head lock.

"Huh? Now who's tough!" he yelled again. He then punched the man so hard that he got sent flying across the room.

"That's what I thought" he said. The man got up and left the pub while Cream went over to Sonic and asked

"Richard, now that you have finished beating up the poor man, may we speak to you in private?" Sonic looked at her then at Nick and Tails

"Why the company?" he asked, Cream looked back at Nick and Tails then back at him

"You'll find out, but we need somewhere a bit more private than this" she said, Sonic nodded and took the three round the back of the pub. At the back there was a separate room that was used to store the ale. Sonic let them in and shut the door

"So what is it you wanted to speak to me about?" he asked, Tails took a step forward and said

"Actually, it's me that wanted to speak to you" Sonic looked at him with confusion but said

"Go on" Tails took a deep breath and began explaining his whole situation all over again. Sonic didn't react he just looked at Tails as if he was trying to take it all in. After Tails had finished his story Sonic leaned against a wall and said

"And all this is true?" Tails nodded and said

"Yes" Sonic took a deep breath and said

"Well this all sounds rather far fetched but there's a gut feeling that's telling me to believe you, and as they say you should always go with you're gut" He then stood up and walked over to Tails

"However if this ends up being a trick then I'll punch you so hard you'll never see the light of day again!" he said, Tails gulped but remained strong.

"This is not a trick, now we have four more people left to find"

"Okay, who's next?" Tails stopped and thought for a moment

"Well you wouldn't know a red echidna, or silver hedgehog, or a black hedgehog with red strikes, or a pink hedgehog" he asked quickly. Sonic's eyes widened

"Slow down!" he said, he then paused and thought "Well, I know most of them but I would really know where to find them, but the silver hedgehog I know exactly where to find" he then ran out off the room and down the street with Tails, Cream and Nick following close behind.

Just as they were running, Tails could hear the distinctive voice of the Trickster saying quietly but maniacally

_Tick tock goes the clock, time will soon run out._

But Tails knew better, he knew he would beat his game. He had to.


	6. Chapter 5, A Heated Ending for Some

Chapter 5, A Heated End

Tails, Sonic, Cream and Nick ran through the blackened streets of London. Night was approaching but there was no time to sleep. Time was running out. And fast.

Soon Sonic arrived at a bakers, just next to pudding lane. They walked inside and it wasn't surprising that it smelt far better than the pub. It smelt warm and sweet. Sonic walked in and called

"John! Come on out you bastard!" Sooner or later a loud clatter could be heard and a silver hedgehog emerged from behind the counter

"I'm the bastard? YOU'RE the bastard!" he said, Tails smiled with joy, it was without doubt Silver the hedgehog.

"What do you want now Richard! I'm warning you I'm not in the mood, the bakery on pudding lane nearly caused a fire the other day, I swear one of these days there will be a real fire and it will destroy the whole of London!" he cried, Sonic just shook his head and said

"Yeah alright, look we have some news which may actually interest you" Silver looked at him then at Tails, Cream and Nick.

"What sort of news" he asks in curiosity

"Well I think this kid explains it best" Sonic said as he motions towards Tails. Tails steps forward and says

"Hello, I'm Tails, and this story may blow your mind" Tails then starts explaining his story and his situation, in every detail, Silver was nodding at certain points as if he understood exactly what Tails was saying. When Tails was finished Silver paused for a moment and then said

"So I'm not really John?" Tails nodded and said

"No, your real name is Silver, Silver the hedgehog" Silver looked to the floor and said with a sigh

"But, I did all this, on my own. I grew up an orphan, I had to stand on my own two feet and I made a decent living from this, and now it'll all go away, it'll all just disappear?!" Tails took a deep breath and said

"I know it's hard but remember none of this even existed, your life as it is now never was!"

"Well to you it wasn't!" Silver shouted "But to me it was more real than anything!" tears started flowing from Silver's eyes. Tails was about to walk up to him when Sonic pushed him back, he shook his head in disapproval. Instead he went up to Silver and placed a hand on his shoulder, he then spoke to him but it was too quiet for Cream, Tails or Nick to hear. All they could get out of it was a couple of nods and hand gestures. After some time Silver and Sonic turned back to face Tails and the other two.

"Alright Tails I believe you" said Silver. Tails smiled in response and Silver smiled back. Suddenly Tails mind flashed back, Time was running out! And he still had three more friends to find!

"Alright, we have three more people to find! John, you would know either a red echidna, a black hedgehog with red strikes or a pink hedgehog with three bangs coming out of her head?" Tails said, Silver took a moment to think. His eyes suddenly widened.

"Yes! I know two of them! The echidna and the black hedgehog!" Tails smiled in joy

"Great! Do you know where to find them?!" he asked in anticipation. Silver nodded in agreement, he then lead them out of his bakery and out onto the main street.

It didn't take long for them to reach their penultimate destination. It was a butchers. Although it didn't look to pleasant. Silver lead them in and as soon as Tails set foot in it he nearly fainted. It smelt putrid; the smell of rotten meat and blood was over powering. But to the rest of the group, the smell was not so bad. As soon as silver set foot in the butchers he called out

"Robert! Henry! Come here we need to talk!" as soon as he called out, some clutter could be heard and two figures emerged from behind them

"Hello" said a voice. The group jumped in fear, they turned around to find two figures, one red one black. To Tails utter joy and relief it was none other than Knuckles and Shadow. He could help to sigh.

"What is it now John?!" the hedgehog said.

"hello to you to Robert" said Silver with a tad of irritation, Shadow rolled his eyes and said

"Hello, now what is it you want?" Silver just rolled his eyes back and said

"we, or more like him" he motions towards Tails "has some interesting information that you may like to hear" Shadow just looked at Tails and responded

"Not interested, now leave" Cream's eyes widened and Sonic just shouted

"That's a bit rude! Don't you think?!" Shadow just shrugged and walked off but Knuckles stopped him

"Don't you think we should listen to them?" he muttered to Shadow. Shadow just looked at him and sighed, he then turned back to Tails and the rest and said

"Fine, go ahead" Tails took a breath and told his whole story once again, he hoped that they would believe him. When he was finished he waited to hear the response of his long lost friends.

"I don't believe a single word" said Shadow spitefully. Tails eyes widened in shock

"Surely you can't be serious!" said Nick "Not to mention that was plain rude!" Shadow just looked at him in disgust.

"Please you have to believe me!" cried Tails, he could here the maniacal laugh of the trickster pounding in his brain "Please, if you don't believe me, then we'll all be locked in this time line and we'll never be freed! Please! At this moment everyone is counting on me, even you, deep down you have faith in me and I can't let anyone down!" cried Tails, nearly in tears. "Please" Cream ran over to Tails and put an arm around him. She then looked up at Knuckles and Shadow in hope and plead

"Robert, please, I believe him, I know it's far fetched but something tells me to believe him, so please just believe him, for me" said Knuckles to Shadow. Shadow sighed, he turned to Knuckles, then at the group.

"Well, I guess I believe you" he said "After all my life had seemed a little incomplete but all this time I chose to ignore it" Tails smiled once again and said

"Oh thank you, thank you so much! Now we only have one more person left to find, please tell me you know a pink hedgehog with three bangs coming out of her head?!" Knuckles eyes widened, but not in joy, but in shock and sadness.

"yeah I know her, but…" he started

"But what?" Tails asked, Knuckles sighed

"She's a waitress over in the bar across the street, but she's abused regularly, but yet she refuses to quit, she needs to earn a living for her family, telling her to believe your story would be hard" he replied.

"Well then! We have no time to lose!" Tails cried "show me where she can be found!" Knuckles nodded and left the shop with Shadow, Tails and the rest close behind him.

They ran to the end of the street to an old house that was completely run down. The walls and windows were falling apart. Knuckles took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Soon the door opened revealing an old woman in tattered clothing. Knuckles smiled and said

"Hello, is Alice here at all?" the woman nodded and called

"Alice! Six strange people and a boy are here for you!" she then left and the door was left open. Soon a pink hedgehog came out, and to Tails relief it was none other than Amy herself.

"What is it?" she asks in curiosity and fear. Knuckles smiled and said

"Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you, we just want to talk, is there somewhere private we can go to?" But Amy remained in her place, Knuckles sighed

"Very well, we'll stay here, Tails do you want to take it from here?" he asked Tails, Tails nodded and went up to Amy, he then explained his whole story one final time. Once he had finished he looked at Amy in hope.

"I…I… I don't believe it" she says, Tails hope shattered and the Trickster laughed once again

"Please you have to believe me time is running out, if not completely gone, if you don't believe me then we could be trapped in this time zone forever!" Amy looked down in tears

"Even if I did believe you, I couldn't go, I have my family to care for" Shadow let out a sigh of irritation.

"Look, we all had families but they all die anyway!" he said, Sonic punched him in anger. Tails ignored them and said

"Alice, please, just trust me…" he was then stopped by several people shouting at the end of the street

"FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!"

The group turned in fear, right at the end of the street there was a roaring inferno, and it was spreading fast! The sky had become a bright orange.

_Of course, how could I have been so blind?_ Tails thought,_ This is the year of the great fire of __London_!

"Oh my lord!" Cream cried, Nick cried in shock, this was all to terrifying. Tails turned back to Amy

"Can't you see? Your house will be destroyed anyway, you will have nothing left! You will end up having to work even harder and get abused even more, a better tomorrow will never come! Do you really want that?!" he cried, Amy looked at the inferno that was spreading towards her, she looked back at her house then at the floor

"No" she muttered, Tails showed her his hand and said

"Trust me, come with me and I can promise you a better life!" Amy looked up at him, she took a moment to think, but in the end took Tails' hand. Immediately he ran off with her and the group followed behind. Suddenly a crackling of a house could be heard and more screams were heard. Nick froze and said to the group

"I have to help them! You go, be freed, it was nice knowing you!" he then ran back towards the inferno

"Nick!" Cream cried but Tails grabbed her hand as well and ran into a near by alleyway. Once everyone was safe Tails shouted

"Trickster, Everyone believes! I did it in time! WE CAN BE FREED!"

"We all believe!" cried Sonic, everyone nodded in approval.

_Very well_ said the Trickster. And with that everyone started fading away once again. Just before he disappeared for good, Tails looked back towards the street in guilt and hope, hoping that Nick would survive. And with that he was gone.

Soon everything was white once again and everyone's memories came back.

"So two of you have defeated me already, well done may I say" Tails looked up at him in anger

"What happens to him, to Nick" the trickster shrugged and said

"he dies trying to save another, quite stupid if you ask me" Tails shouted at him in anger

"STUPID! IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK? IT WAS HEROIC!" the trickster smiled and said

"Don't get too attached, it was his fate after all, now on with the show"

"Thank you Tails" Sonic said, Tails nodded in response and Sonic said

"Good luck to whoever is next, we are going to beat him, trust me and yourselves" Everyone agreed and with that they all faded way once again and the game continued.


	7. Chapter 6, Return to the Sea

Chapter 6, Return to the Sea

Cream woke up in small cabin, immediately she knew she was the chosen one. The cabin was small and tight. It had white walls and two simple bunk beds.

"Where am I?" she asked herself "More importantly when am I?" she looked down at herself saw that she wore a medium length, brown skirt that fell just below her knees, a beige shirt, dark brown blazer, knee high socks and little black shoes. Her look wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Deciding nothing would get down if she stayed in the cabin, Cream left the small cabin and went to explore outside. On the outside of the cabin there was a long corridor with several other doors coming onto it. There were many people walking up and down the corridors or sitting outside doors. Cream walked outside and down the corridor. Right at then end of the corridor there was a large hall with doors that lead into other rooms, halls and other facilities.

_Where do I start? Where even am I? _Cream asked herself, she was in the middle of her thoughts when she felt something small and fast run into her

"Oh! Sorry ma'am!" said a young boy, Cream looked down at him. He was quite small with ginger hair and freckles. He had a smile on his face as if he had done something he shouldn't have done but was proud to have done it anyway. His smile quickly grew bigger as he heard a loud yell calling him

"JOEY!" The child laughed and said to Cream

"Got to run!" the child ran off and soon a little girl came running after him.

"JOEY YOU'RE GOING TO PAY!" Cream giggled a bit and decided to run after them, just incase one of them got hurt.

The two children ran down the hall and through one of the doors, Cream swiftly followed them, she went through the doors that lead onto a dining room, however the room was plain and small, but that didn't compare to the immense atmosphere of the place. There were people in practically ever corner of it, either talking, dancing or even fighting. There was also music that filled the ears and heart with joy. Cream smiled, it was truly on of those things to treasure. She then heard some screaming and knew it was the two children. Cream slightly laughed and walked towards the screaming. She walked over to a corner of the hall say the two children having a mini fight

"JOEY! I hate you! You'll pay for this!" the little girl yelled as she pulled on the boy's arm.

"Hey, you asked for it!" the boy yelled back in defense. Cream walked over to them and pulled them apart.

"Hey, HEY! Calm it you two" she said, the two children stopped fighting each other and looked at Cream. "Now, I don't know what happened but please stop killing each other it'll help no-one, alright, so apologize" The two looked at each other,

"Sorry" the girl muttered

"I'm sorry too" said the little boy quietly. Cream smiled and said

"Right now that's over and done with, what are your names" the two looked up again and smiled

"My name's Joey and this is my sister Kirsty" said the boy.

"Nice to meet you" Said Martha "What's your name?"

"I'm Cream" Cream said with a smile. Just as she smiled a louder music took place and everyone left a space in the center of the hall. Soon everyone took turns in dancing in the middle. They either danced in pairs or one their own. Everyone else clapped while the dancing took place, Cream even joined in and for a moment she forgot completely about the mission, the game, the Trickster. Joey and Kirsty laughed and made their way to the front while dragging Cream along with them. Then the two dancers that had previously been dancing left and in their place a new dancer came along. As soon as the new dancer took the stage, or the center of the hall, Cream's eyes widened in shock and mixture of joy.

It was no-one other than Sonic the hedgehog.

Cream smiled in joy, _One down five more to go! _She thought. He was the same blue hedgehog except her wore black trousers, a white shirt and a black hat. Sonic started dancing, he started some tap dancing and Cream couldn't help but to giggle, this was a completely different Sonic she was used to but it was really funny in her eyes. As he danced more people joined in and soon everyone was dancing even Cream. She laughed and laughed until the dance finally came to an end. Once everyone had stopped Cream sat down to catch her breath. It was the most fun she had in a while.

Suddenly she saw Sonic leave the hall and her eyes widened in shock, she suddenly remembered the mission and without thinking ran after Sonic. Kirsty and Joey ran swiftly after her, trying to keep up. Cream ran after Sonic trying to catch him.

"Excuse me, mister, mister, I need to talk to you" she called, not knowing what he was called in this time period. Seeing her distress Kirsty called out

"JACK! COME HERE!" Sonic suddenly stopped and turned around. He looked at the three and asked

"What is it?" Cream looked up at him; he looked at her with confusion. She then hit a sudden thought, what was she going to say? How as she going to say it? Would he even believe him? Sonic tilted his head and said

"Yes?" Cream snapped out of her thoughts and said

"I need to talk to you but it's a private issue, is there somewhere private we can talk?" Sonic brought his head back up and said slowly

"My cabin" he then turned and led them down another corridor, he then arrived at a door and went inside. He motioned them to enter which they did and he closed the door behind them

"So what is it?" he asked curiously. Cream took a deep breath and said

"I was sent on a mission, I'm here to find my friends who have been lost in time and you are one of them, even if you don't believe it" Sonic looked at her in confusion

"What are you talking about? I was born in 1896, I grew up an orphan and escaped the orphanage at the age of 14, I lived on the streets on Liverpool for two years when I found out that a great ship was leaving for America, so I went down to Southampton and won my ticket on the great Titanic to go to America" Cream's eyes widened in fear

"What did you say?!" she said in shock, Sonic gave her a look of confusion and said

"I grew up as a…"

"No after that" she said, looking at him directly in the eyes "What is this ship called?!"

"The Titanic" replied Sonic with confusion and fear. Cream started to panic, she couldn't breath

"Are you sure?!" she barely said

"Yes" replied Sonic. Cream took a deep breath and said

"Look, I know it may seem outrageous but you have to believe me, if you do I can save you from your oncoming death, this ship is doomed to sink, you have to believe me!" Sonic didn't know what to do; he took a moment to think

"Are you sure? If I don't believe you will I die" He asked, Cream could only nod in response. Sonic took a deep breath and said

"Alright, I believe you, if it means my death if I don't then what choice do I have?" he smiled slightly in order to try and cheer Cream up. She smiled back and went back into action

"Right, we have five more friends left to find, they must be on this ship so they can't be too hard to find" she said confidently

"Except if they are in the other classes" said Sonic

"What do you mean?" asked Cream

"Other classes are not allowed to mix, it is wrong" said Kirsty. Cream gave out a sigh of defeat, but Joey replied

"Then we will find a way! We must!" he smiled and soon everyone else smiled too,

"Alright, first we check this class, see if they are here" said Cream; she then described the rest of their friends to Sonic, Kirsty and Joey to see if they recognized any of them, Thankfully Kirsty knew one of them so they wasted no time and quickly left the cabin in search of their missing friends.

Time was slowly running out and all Cream could here was the maniacal laugh of the trickster pounding in her head. She knew if she didn't find her friends they and she will die. She had to win; she had to beat this game.

Her life depended on it.


End file.
